Blue Point White IPA

My buddy Greg brought home a growler of Blue Point White IPA from Long Island and gave me a call to come over and share it with him. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head. The aroma consists of Belgian yeast, wheat, peppercorn, lemon, and grass. The taste is dry and bitter with plenty of peppercorn, grass, lemongrass, and wheat. There is a bit of Belgian yeast that sweetens the finish and the after taste stays warm and dry. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was my first exposure to the White IPA style, and I thought it was quite tasty and refreshing. It had a good amount of spices with a good sweetness to it.

Voodoo Headless Horseman

I was lucky to get the opportunity to try a glass of Voodoo Headless Horseman at Al’s of Hampden. Voodoo was pressured and caved to creating a pumpkin beer, and this was their offering. The beer pours a dark brown color with a bubbly tan head. When smelling the beer, all I could think of was “Holy Cinnamon, Batman!” with hints of pumpkin bread, raisin, fig, and allspice. The taste is sweet and dry with tons of cinnamon taking focus. There is some caramel, molasses, raisin, nutmeg fig, and hints of pumpkin linger in the finish. The alcohol content is 8.2% ABV. If you are a fan of the spices that are found in pumpkin beers, this is one for you. If you like the sweeter pumpkin flavor, you may want to shy away from it, as it is spice heaven. I personally loved it, but I also enjoy the abuse that tons of cinnamon and nutmeg can put your mouth through, and I thought there was just enough raisin, fig, and pumpkin sweetness to give a solid base.

Stone Vertical Epic 11-11-11

I stopped in to Al’s of Hampden to hang out with some friends and I ordered a glass of Stone Vertical Epic 11-11-11. The beer pours a dark amber color with a foamy white head. Th aroma consists of spicy pepper, cinnamon, chocolate, and caramel. The taste is smooth with light chocolate flavor on the front end. There is plenty of caramel that takes over the mouth before a good spicy pepper accent that doesn't kill the beer, or the tongue, kicks in to play. A bit of dry cinnamon comes in to play, but never takes a foot hold. The finish has some creaminess to it, and the beer goes down rather smooth. The alcohol content is 9.4% ABV. This version of the Vertical Epic is one of the better chili pepper infused beers out there, as it wasn’t too spicy to kill the palate, and it wasn’t too faint to ignore. I think Stone did a great job with it.

Millbock Brewing Richard Cranium

I was excited to try a new brewery out of Linglestown, Pennsylvania, in Millbock Brewing Company, and Al’s of Hampden was the first to put it on tap. The first beer tapped was Richard Cranium. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma consists of rye, lemongrass, tea, and caramel. The taste is smooth and sweet with good caramel base. There is a great rye flavor that takes focus before some lemon comes out, causing a light pucker on the finish. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was a great first beer from this brewery, and I would definitely order another glass of it. If this is the quality of beer expected from Millbock, then we are in for a joyous ride.

Troegs Scratch 52- T2 Ale

I stopped in to the new Troegs Brewery (T2) to try Scratch 52- T2 Ale. The beer was served in two variations: filtered and unfiltered. In the picture above, the filtered is on the left and the unfiltered is on the right. Both beers poured an amber color with a frothy off-white colored head, but the unfiltered’s head hangs around a bit longer. The aroma consists of caramel, pine, spruce, and toffee, while the unfiltered version carries a hint of grapefruit. The taste is dry and bitter but does start off sweet with caramel and toasted toffee. The finish has pepper, pine, and a hint of lemon. The unfiltered has a lightly creamier mouth feel than the filtered version, which makes it not quite as bitter at first. While grapefruit was present in the filtered, it was much more prevalent in the unfiltered. The alcohol content is 6.9% ABV. I felt like this beer was similar and a slightly varied version of HopBack. However, the unfiltered version and its added grapefruit characteristics were excellent. If you go and can only order one version, I suggest ordering the unfiltered version.

Ithaca Excelsior Brute

While watching football on a Sunday, my buddy Ed pulled out a bottle of Ithaca Excelsior Brute to share. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white head. The aroma consists of vinegar, wheat, lemon, and meringue. The taste is lightly sour with lemon flavor, but not terribly puckering. There is a hint of vinegar with a sweet meringue flavor and hints of grass. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was an outstanding beer that really played with good citrus flavors. There was a certain sweetness to with the meringue flavor, and I definitely liked the slight pucker of vinegar.

Uinta Crooked Line Cockeyed Cooper Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine Ale

My buddy Ed brought me up a bottle of Uinta Crooked Line Cockeyed Cooper Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine Ale from his trip to Atlanta. The beer pours a dark reddish-brown color with a frothy beige colored head that leaves a bit of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of raisin, fig, bourbon, oak, orange, and vanilla. The taste is smooth and sweet at first with a raisin and fig profile before drying off rather rapidly. The dryness is accompanied with bourbon, oak, pepper, and hints of grass. The finish has some vanilla sweetness with hints of orange as well. The alcohol content is 11.1% ABV. I feel like without the bourbon barrels, this was a solid barleywine, but with the addition of the barrels, it takes off to another dimension. The bourbon and oak dryness are great, and the hint of orange really rounds out the flavor.

Jailhouse Brewing Conjugal Visit Red Ale

My buddy Ed picked me up a bottle of Jailhouse Brewing Conjugal Visit Red Ale while in Atlanta. The beer pours a dark red color with a frothy off-white colored head with some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of caramel, toasted malts, and a hint of grassy hops. The taste is dry and lightly bitter with some lemon, but it is all built upon a solid caramel and toffee base. There are some toasted malts that really shine in the background, and the finish brings out some pepper. The after taste leaves a grassy hop flavor that will stay on the tongue for a while. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was a solid red ale with a great bitter lemon and grassy hop flavor. I really enjoyed the base of the beer, but the bitterness is what makes the beer.

Shmaltz Brewing He'brew Genesis 15:15 Barrel Aged Harvest Barleywine Ale

My buddy Ed brought me back a bottle of Shmaltz Brewing He’brew Genesis 15:15 Barrel Aged Harvest Barleywine Ale from Atlanta. The beer pours a dark cherry color with a frothy tan head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of fig, raisin, pomegranate juice, grape juice, whiskey, cocoa powder, rye, and dates. The taste is sweet at first with plenty of raisin, date, and fig before a slight souring with pomegranate juice. There is a dark chocolate finish that is balanced very well with oak, whiskey, and rye. The after taste is light on grape juice, but a warmth takes over in the back of the mouth with some pepper. The alcohol content is 13.4% ABV. For as high alcohol content as this beer has and for as much as it does announce its presence, it was quite smooth and had a nice sweetness to it. The light fruitiness really makes the beer enjoyable, and the dry oakiness and rye stayed behind and made me remember this beer.

SweetWater Brewing Dank Tank Ghoulash

My buddy Ed brought me back a bottle of SweetWater Brewing Company Dank Tank Ghoulash from Atlanta. This beer is a “double black double dry hopped double India Pale Ale,” or a beer with a lot of doubles. The beer pours a black color with a lofty and frothy beige-colored head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, lemon, pine, spruce, pepper, and molasses. The taste is dry and bitter and is very hop-forward, bringing pine, lemon, and spruce flavors right up to the front of the beer. It finishes with a dark chocolate flavor that has hints of caramel, molasses, and toasted malts. The after taste lets pepper and lemon linger on the tongue. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. If you are looking for a beer that is dark and chocolaty and hoppy and bitter at the same time, this is the beer for you. It really presents its dryness, and the slight hint of citrus is quite enjoyable.

New Holland Oak Aged Hatter

I picked up a bottle of New Holland Oak Aged Hatter from Brass Rail in Campbelltown. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head that leaves a hint of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of caramel, lemon, grapefruit, oak, and pepper. The taste is dry and oaky with plenty of caramel on the front end with some lemon and grapefruit. The alcohol content is 5.1% ABV. I would say that the oak aging definitely killed off the dry and hoppiness of this beer, for the better or worse. While it was a good beer, The Mad Hatter on its own was much better.

Ommegang Aphrodite

My buddy Matt brought over a bottle of Ommegang Aphrodite to share. The beer pours a ruby red color with a thin filmy off-white colored head. The aroma consists of raspberry, yeast, pear, vinegar, cherry, and some brettanomyces. The taste is lightly sour with some raspberry pucker on the front end. There is a bit of vinegar, Belgian yeast, pear, and cherry flavors. It has a bubbly mouth feel, and the finish brings out a dry grassy flavor. The alcohol content is 8.9% ABV. This wasn’t quite as sour of a beer as I expected, but it was very delicious and had a good raspberry flavor with hints of vinegar.

Dogfish Head Faithfull Ale (Pearl Jam's Twenty)

I picked up a bottle of the Dogfish Head tribute to Pearl Jam’s Twenty called Faithfull Ale at Al’s of Hampden. Naturally, I opened the bottle, reviewed it, and drank it all while listening to Pearl Jam’s “Ten.” The beer pours a pale golden color with a frothy white head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of lemon, currants, wheat, yeast, candisugar, and grass. The taste is light on the tongue with plenty of lemon, currants, and Belgian yeast to keep the tongue happy. It starts sweet but moves into a slightly drier grassy flavor. The after taste is a bit sugary and very bready as well. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I have to say that this was quite an enjoyable beer that had some sweetness, but the grassy and earthy flavors gave it a bit of a dirty tinge, just like the grunge era that Pearl Jam helped define.

The Bruery Run B.M.C.

As part of a beer trade with the BeerClub4Men, I received a bottle of The Bruery Run B.M.C. This beer is quadruple hopped! The beer pours a pale golden color with a lofty and frothy white head that leaves plenty of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of lemon, malt, caramel, and grass. The taste is light and dry with plenty of lemon flavor on the front end. There are hints of ruby red grapefruit come out in the finish and are accompanied with grass and earthy hops. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This was a much more enjoyable and flavorful pilsner than anything those big boys can push out, and I really loved the slight fruitiness to it.